Within our DARKEST NIGHT REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 13 th November 2016 11.00 am
PROCESSIONAL HYMN O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home. (flags will be presented during this hymn) Beneath the shadow of thy throne thy saints have dwelt secure; sufficient is thine arm alone, and our defence is sure. Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame, from everlasting thou art God, to endless the years the same. A thousand ages in thy sight are like and evening gone; short as the watch that ends the night before the rising son. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, soon bears us all away; we fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day. O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be thou our guard while troubles last, and our eternal home. WELCOME and INTRODUCTION Words: Isaac Watts (1674-1748) based on Psalm 90:1-6 Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.. And also with you. We have come together in the name of Christ, in sadness to commemorate the darkness of the Great War and other wars and conflicts, in shame for our stubborn and selfish hearts. To honour the courage of those who gave themselves in time of war, in hope to pray for peace throughout the world, and in joy to proclaim the light and victory of Christ. As we ask that God s will may be done in this and every place, so we pray together As Jesus Christ has taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. HYMN : The Kingdom of God. 1 The kingdom of God is justice and joy; for Jesus restores what sin would destroy. God's power and glory in Jesus we know and here and hereafter the kingdom shall grow. 2 The kingdom of God is mercy and grace; the captives are freed, the sinners find place, the outcast are welcomed God's banquet to share; and hope is awakened in place of despair. 3 The kingdom of God is challenge and choice: believe the good news, repent and rejoice! His love for us sinners brought Christ to his cross: our crisis of judgement for gain or for loss.
4 God's kingdom is come, the gift and the goal; in Jesus begun, in heaven made whole. The heirs of the kingdom shall answer his call and all things cry 'Glory!' to God all in all. Music: German folk melody Arranged by Sydney Hugo Nicholson (1875-1947) Theme 1 - The Darkness of War Four candles symbolising North, South, East and West are already lit before the service and carried from the four corners of the church during the hymn. The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our time (the words of Sir Edward Grey Foreign Secretary at the time) The four candles are gradually extinguished as a sign of the darkness and despair that followed the outbreak of war Silence is kept. THE TAIZE CHANT: Within our darkest night. READING: A letter from Wilfred Owen to his mother on 25th April 1917. SCRIPTURE READING: Ecclesiastes 4: 1-3 Again I saw all the oppressions that are practised under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was powerwith no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deed that are done under the sun. ORGAN INSTRUMENTAL:
LITANY of remembrance: In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father: God the Father, have mercy upon us. God the Son, have mercy upon us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us. Holy and blessed Trinity, have mercy upon us. From all fear and prejudice, bitterness, and all hardness of heart, good Lord, deliver us. From all spite, revenge and destructive anger, good Lord, deliver us. From the desire to dominate others, to impose our will, and from feelings of superiority, good Lord, deliver us. Open our hearts towards our neighbour, and help us to work together for the common good. Lord, hear us and help us. Strengthen us to stand for all that is just and true and right. Lord, hear us and help us. Grant that we may come to understand our enemies, Lord, hear us and help us. Bring release to those with abiding memories of hurt and injury, Lord, hear us and help us. Lord grant us the grace to receive forgiveness, and to forgive as we are forgiven. Lord, hear us and help us.
Comfort all those who mourn, the troubled, and all who call upon you in their distress. Lord, hear us and help us. Guide the leaders of the nations and those who work for peace, and make us all subject to Christ s just and gentle rule. Lord, hear us and help us. Holy God, holy and strong, holy and immortal, have mercy upon us. And so we come to God as one from whom no secrets are hidden, to ask for His forgiveness. Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen. HYMN 716 Kyrie (Choir only)
Theme 2 - A generous love THE TAIZE CHANT: Within our darkest night. READING: The story of Sergeant Buck. SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 25: 34-40 Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you that are blessed by my father, Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you? And the King will answer them, Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. HYMN 515 : A new commandment I give unto you, A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you love one another as I have loved you. By this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another. By this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another. Anon. John 13: 34-35
Prayer: Jesus, Son of God, Let your love shine through our eyes, Your Spirit inspire our words, Your wisdom fill our minds, Your mercy control our hands, Your will capture our hearts, Your joy pervade our being; Until we are changed into your likeness From glory to glory. Amen. HYMN: To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love all pray in their distress, and to these virtues of delight return their thankfulness. For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love is God our Father dear; and Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love is Man, his Child and care. For Mercy has a human heart, Pity, a human face, and Love, the human form divine. and Peace, the human dress. Then every man, of every clime, that prays in his distress, prays to the human form divine, Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace. William Blake (1757 1827)
(ACT OF REMEMBRANCE) (congregation please stand) Introduction / invitation to wreath layers. The Supreme sacrifice. (1) Reading of the names of The Fallen. Sarah Maguire / Nick Hambly Laying of Wreaths. Last Post. The Silence. They shall not grow old. read by: Ivan Bleakley The Supreme sacrifice (2) Revielle When you go home (Rector) Response They shall beat their swords into ploughshares And their spears into pruning hooks Nation shall not lift up sword against nation They shall not learn war any more.
Theme 4 - A prayer for peace Silence is kept for a few moments THE TAIZE CHANT: Within our darkest night. (during which the 4 candles are re-lit as a sign of hope) READING: Amazing peace by Maya Angelou SCRIPTURE READING: Revelation 21: 1-4, 22-26 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations. HYMN 503: Make me a channel of your peace. (during this hymn a candle of peace will be lit by Rainbows) Make me a channel of your peace: where there is hatred let me bring your love, where there is injury, your pardon, Lord, and where there s doubt, true faith in you: O Master, grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love with all my soul! Make me a channel of your peace; where there s despair in life let me bring hope, where there is darkness, only light, and where there s sadness, ever joy:
O Master, grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love with all my soul! Make me a channel of your peace: it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, in giving of ourselves that we receive, and in dying that we re born to eternal life. Prayer: Words & Music : Sebastian Temple (1928-97) based on The Prayer of Francis of Assisi O God of the nations, as we look to that day when you will gather people from north and south, east and west, into the unity of your peaceable Kingdom, guide with your just and gentle wisdom all who take counsel for the nations of the world, that all your people may spend their days in security, freedom and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. SERMON: CREED: I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
OFFERTORY HYMN: (offering in support of Earl Haig Fund) Christ is the world s true light. Christ is the world s true light, its captain of salvation, the daystar clear and bright of every man and nation; new life, new hope awakes, where peoples own his sway; freedom her bondage breaks, and night is turned to day. In Christ all races meet, their ancient feuds forgetting, the whole round world complete, from sunrise to its setting: when Christ is throned as Lord, lands shall forsake their fear, to ploughshare beat the sword, to pruning-hook the spear. One Lord, in one great name unite us all who own thee; cast out our pride and shame that hinder to enthrone thee; the world has waited long, has travailed long in pain; to heal its ancient wrong, come, Prince of Peace, and reign! George Wallace BRIGGS (1875 1959) Music: Melody by Johan Cruger 1840 The sending out At the beginning of this service we had 4 candles to symbolise the 4 corners of the earth. As we leave this Holy Place we are reminded that we too are to be the peace makers and sharers of Christ light and Gospel of love, joy and peace for all people.
HYMN 514: We cannot measure how you heal We cannot measure how you heal or answer every sufferer's prayer, yet we believe your grace responds where faith and doubt unite to care. Your hands, though bloodied on the cross survive to hold and heal and warn, to carry all through death to life and cradle children yet unborn. The pain that will not go away, the guilt that clings from things long past, the fear of what the future holds are present as if meant to last. But present too is love which tends the hurt we never hoped to find, the private agonies inside the memories that haunt the mind. So some have come who need your help, and some have come to make amends, as hands which shaped and saved the world are present in the touch of friends. Lord, let your Spirit meet us here to mend the body, mind and soul, to disentangle peace from pain and make your broken people whole John L. Bell and Graham Maule The Iona Community Prayer: Lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth. Lead us from despair to hope, from fear to trust. Lead us from hate to love, from war to peace. Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe. Peace, peace, peace. Amen
BLESSING: May the God who kindles a flame to lighten our darkness and take away our fear, shine upon us all and bring us his peace and hope; and the blessing of God, our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer be among you and remain with you always. Amen. The National Anthem God save our gracious Queen long live our noble Queen, God save the Queen. Send her victorious, happy and glorious, long to reign over us; God save the Queen. (please stand) RECESSIONAL HYMN: my hope on God is founded. (flags will be returned during this hymn) my hope on God is founded; he doth still my trust renew, me through change and chance he guideth, only good and only true. God unknown, he alone calls my heart to be his own. Pride of man and earthly glory, sword and crown betray his trust; what with care and toil he buildeth, tower and temple fall to dust. But God's power, hour by hour, is my temple and my tower.
God's great goodness aye endureth, deep his wisdom, passing thought: splendor, light and life attend him, beauty springeth out of naught. Evermore from his store newborn worlds rise and adore. Daily doth the almighty Giver bounteous gifts on us bestow; his desire our soul delighteth, pleasure leads us where we go. Love doth stand at his hand; joy doth wait on his command. Still from man to God eternal sacrifice of praise be done, high above all praises praising for the gift of Christ, his Son. Christ doth call one and all: ye who follow shall not fall. Words: Robert Bridges (1844-1930); based on the German on Joachim Neander (1650-1680) DISMISSAL : We walk into the world To walk in God s light To rejoice in God s love And to reflect in God s glory. Amen.
WITHIN OUR DARKEST NIGHT Participants Celebrant:- Canon Ellis Alison Irvine Readers :- Sarah Maguire Nick Hambly Four Candles:- Jessica Kingston Annabel Kingston Amy Turner Natalie Turner Wreath Layers:- Tom Cranston & John Neill (RBL) Ivan Bleakley (Parish) James Willis (Scouts) Laura Turner (Guides) Candle of Peace:- Darcy Coalter (Rainbow) Flag Bearers:- Meabh Hambly (Brownies) Evan Clarke (Beavers) Adam Armstrong (Cubs) Jake Newman (Scouts) Richard Armstrong (Explorer Scouts) Kate Mc Niece (Guides) Ellie Little (Guides) Ellen Smith (Senior Guide) Ellen Armstrong (Senior Guide) RSCM The Royal School of Church Music 19 The Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 2EB Material in this service from The Book of Common Prayer copyright RCB 2004 Hymns and songs reproduced under licence - CCLI Licence No. 129364